Peoria Public Schools will make some changes to the district's "no zeroes" grading policy starting this August.
The district first adopted the policy in 2018, after internal discussions about the harmful impacts of "zeroes" on a student's overall grades. The current policy allows for a grade of no lower than 40%.
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Sandra Wilson said the policy needed some alterations.
"We feel like we have tweaked a few things. We didn't do a whole-scale change, but we adjusted a few things that really didn't seem like they were working as well," she said.
Under the new practices, students can receive zeroes on "summative" assignments like projects, tests, essays, and presentations if the teacher believes the student didn't try. The student will still have the opportunity to make up the assignment for full credit later on.
Formative assignments like in-class individual work and quizzes will still have a 40% minimum grade, but new exceptions will be introduced for plagiarism and cheating.
Students will be able to make up the assignment for full credit the first time they are caught acting dishonestly on classwork, but not on subsequent occasions.
